NWDA to receive reduction in funding

Local businesses in the North West received news they didn’t expect to hear this week as the government announced plans to cut the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s annual budget by £52million.

At this moment in time it is uncertain which sectors will be affected by this lower funding for the area, but it could affect businesses across a broad spectrum. Many small businesses in Manchester and throughout the region rely on these kinds of grants to aid with their growth.

The overall budget of the NWDA will fall by 18 percent and its chief executive Steven Broomhead has revealed that the organisation is disappointed by the news.

He said:

“Our budget for 2010/11 is already 90 more than per cent committed and we will be forced to review some projects that have already been approved.

“Stakeholders and delivery partners involved in affected programmes and projects will be kept fully engaged and informed as specific decisions are made.”

There is to be a reduction on all RDA spending across the board and areas that have been more prosperous in recent years, such as the North West, will lose the most cash. The government is already planning to replace RDAs with local enterprise partnerships and a White Paper is due this summer on the new proposals.